System and method for performing an on-line transaction using a single-use payment instrument

ABSTRACT

A system and method for performing an on-line transaction, such as making a payment, with a single-use payment instrument makes use of computer hardware and software, such as the computing device of a customer, the customer&#39;s bank&#39;s home banking server, the bank&#39;s card authorization server, a vendor&#39;s website server, and the vendor&#39;s credit card acquirer, coupled to one another over a network. The customer is issued a single use payment instrument through the bank, the bank debits an account nominated by the customer for the requested value of the payment instrument and may also specify an expiry for the payment instrument. The customer is able to nominate a particular source of funds for each transaction from among various accounts of the customer. The payment instrument settles and clears through existing credit card payment mechanisms without a need for special accommodation with the Internet vendor.

PRIORITY APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of co-pending U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 09/641,896 filed Aug. 18, 2000, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,398,253,entitled “System and Method for Performing an On-Line Transaction Usinga Single-Use Payment Instrument”, claiming priority to U.S. ProvisionalApplication No. 60/149,874 filed Aug. 19, 1999, each of which isincorporated herein by this reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to the field of electroniccommerce and more particularly to a system and method for performing anon-line transaction, such as making a payment, with a single-use paymentinstrument.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Currently, there is an element of customer uncertainty in makingpayments to merchants on the Internet. It is not always clear to an enduser whether the customer's connection is secure. Further, the customerrelies very much on visual means conveyed by the web browser that thecustomer is using and on pages of information that confirm certificatenumbers that are used for encryption. Neither is it always clear to thecustomer whether that information is indeed accurate or correct oractually coming from the browser or from somebody who is trying to trickthe customer.

Aside from Internet communication security, there is also the concernthat the website with which the customer is communicating is not, infact, who it purports to be. The customer may not even be aware of theentity with which the customer is dealing. For example, the customerfinds a site where the customer wants to buy something, but the customeris not sure whether it is a merchant of whom the customer has heard. Thecustomer is not sure whether the merchant is actually valid andabove-board.

In any event, there is a perceived risk to the customer in using creditcard information to pay for goods and services over the Internet. Thecustomer's credit card information is of some value and can cause afinancial loss as well as considerable inconvenience to the customer ifit is captured by a third party with ill intentions.

On the merchant's side of the transaction, there is a real financialrisk that if a credit card is used fraudulently, settlement may bewithheld or revoked by the card issuer upon receipt of a customerdispute. As more goods, such as software, music, electronic books, andthe like are purchased over the Internet with no physical delivery andhence no address involved, the opportunities for such fraud increase.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is a feature and advantage of the present invention to provide asystem and method for performing an on-line transaction that enables anInternet customer, such as an Internet customer making a purchase, topay for goods and/or services on the web without having to worry aboutthe customer's credit card information getting into the wrong hands.

It is another feature and advantage of the present invention to providea system and method for performing an on-line transaction that providesa user, such as an Internet purchaser, with a unique payment token topay for goods and/or services on the web but which is useless to anyunauthorized person.

It is an additional feature and advantage of the present invention toprovide a system and method for performing an on-line transaction with asingle-use payment instrument that affords the customer all theprotection available to the customer when the customer makes use of acredit card or debit card.

It is a further feature and advantage of the present invention toprovide a system and method for performing an on-line transaction with asingle-use payment instrument that removes any concern of the customerabout security of the customer's connection or the integrity of thewebsite with which the customer makes the transaction.

It is a further feature and advantage of the present invention toprovide a system and method for performing an online transaction thatallows merchants the option to identify the token as a single-useinstrument based on a characteristic range of numbers and either offerpreferential terms on such transactions or impose limits or referrals onthose who do not use such an instrument.

To achieve the stated and other features, advantages and objects, anembodiment of the present invention provides a customer, such as anInternet purchaser, a one-off, single-use payment token or instrumentthat will still settle and clear through existing credit card paymentmechanisms. There is no need for special accommodation with the Internetvendor in order for the customer to take advantage of this instrument.Any vendor that is set up to accept credit card transactions by theinput of a credit card number and a card expiration date can also beprovided with the one-off payment instrument for an embodiment of thepresent invention, that would then, as far as that vendor is concerned,settle through the usual credit card channels. The card expiration dateis the month/year card expiration date which a customer must provide ina standard credit card transaction. An embodiment of the presentinvention utilizes a card expiration date which is fabricated, becausethere is no real card involved.

An embodiment of the present invention makes use of computer hardwareand software, such as the computing device of a customer, which can bethe customer's personal computer (PC), the customer's bank's homebanking server, the bank's card authorization server, a vendor's websiteserver, and the vendor's credit card acquirer, coupled to one anotherover a network, which can be a global network, such as the Internet. Thesystem and method for an embodiment of the present invention enables thecustomer to perform an on-line transaction with a vendor using thesingle-use payment instrument, for example, by entering details of theon-line transaction at the customer's PC coupled to the customer'sbank's home banking server over the network. The transaction detailsinclude, for example, a payment amount for the transaction, which isreceived by the home banking server from the computing device of thecustomer over the network.

In an embodiment of the present invention, upon receiving the detailsfor the on-line transaction with the vendor from the customer, thecustomer is prompted by the home banking server to enter a selection fora source of funds for the transaction from a plurality of nominationoptions, such as a credit card account, a checking account, or a savingsaccount. The home banking server receives the customer's nomination ofthe source of funds for the transaction from the customer's computingdevice over the network. The home banking server verifies anavailability of funds for the payment amount for the transaction in thenominated source of funds and reserves funds sufficient for the paymentamount in the nominated source of funds. In an aspect of an embodimentof the present invention, the funds can be reserved for a predeterminedexpiry period. The predetermined expiry period, as distinguished fromthe fabricated card expiration date, is typically a short period ofhours or days for which the payment instrument is valid, but it is notprovided to the customer to use in the transaction.

In addition, in an embodiment of the present invention, the home bankingserver generates details of a payment instrument for the transactioncorresponding to the transaction details, such as the payment amount forthe transaction and a unique identification number for the transaction.Further, the transaction details generated by the home banking servercan include a predetermined expiry for the payment instrument. Inaddition, the identification number can have an embedded bankidentification number for routing the request for authorization to anappropriate authorization server, and the identification number can begenerated from a characteristic range of numbers identifiable by a website server of the vendor as offering superior authentication. A recordof the payment instrument details is stored by the home banking serverin a database of one or both of the home banking server and a creditcard authorization server of the bank. The home banking server alsoprovides the payment instrument details to the customer at thecustomer's computing device over the network for use by the customer inthe transaction with the vendor.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the customer at thecustomer's computing device sends the payment instrument details overthe network to the vendor's website server to pay for the transactionwith the vendor. The vendor's website server presents the paymentinstrument details to the vendor's credit card acquirer service. Inturn, the vendor's credit card acquirer service presents the paymentinstrument details to the bank's credit card authorization server forauthorization. Upon receiving the request for authorization of thetransaction for the customer by the bank's credit card authorizationserver, if the request for authorization according to the paymentinstrument details corresponds to the stored record of the paymentinstrument details, the authorization server sends an authorization forthe transaction for the customer via the vendor's credit card acquirerservice to the vendor's website server.

If the payment instrument details for an embodiment of the presentinvention include the predetermined expiry for the payment instrument,the transaction is authorized by the credit card authorization server ifthe request for authorization is received within the predeterminedexpiry of the payment instrument. The banking server also debits thenominated source of funds for the payment amount and removes the storedrecord of the payment. Thus, an embodiment of the present inventionprovides a method and system by which an Internet customer is issued aone-off, single use payment token or instrument, through a bank withwhom he or she maintains a checking or credit account. The bank debitsthe customer's checking or credit card account for the requested valueof the token or instrument which depends on the cost of the product orservice which is the subject of a proposed transaction. The bank mayalso specify a transaction period during which the token or instrumentis valid and not valid at any other times.

The single-use payment token or instrument for an embodiment of thepresent invention is distinguished from a debit or credit card-likeinstrument in that the customer is able to choose the source of themoney for each transaction from among various accounts of the customer.Thus, the customer is able to nominate a particular source of funds fora particular transaction, the nominated source is checked foravailability of credit or funds, and the funds are earmarked to bereserved for the same period as the expiry of the token or instrument.There is no need for special accommodation with Internet vendors inorder for customers to take advantage of the instrument. Any vendor thatis set up to accept credit card transactions by the input of a creditcard number and a card expiration date can also be provided with theone-off payment instrument, that would then, as far as that vendor isconcerned, settle through the usual credit card channels.

Additional objects, advantages and novel features of the invention willbe set forth in the description which follows, and in part will becomemore apparent to those skilled in the art upon examination of thefollowing, or may be learned by practice of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram which illustrates an example overview ofkey components and the flow of information between the key componentsfor an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram which illustrates an example overview ofkey components and the flow of information between the key componentsfor an alternate embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a flow chart which illustrates an example of the process ofthe customer performing an on-line transaction using the single-usepayment instrument for an embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring now in detail to an embodiment of the present invention, anexample of which is illustrated in the accompanying attachments, FIG. 1is a schematic diagram which illustrates an example overview of keycomponents and the flow of information between the key components for anembodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 1, an embodimentof the present invention involves a number of computer hardware andsoftware components, such as the computing device 10 of a customer 12,the customer's bank's home banking server 14, the bank's cardauthorization server 16, a vendor's website server 18, and the vendor'scredit card acquirer 20, coupled to one another over a network, such asthe Internet 22.

The system and method for an embodiment of the present invention enablesthe customer 12 to make a payment token good only for a single Internettransaction. In order to do that, before the customer 12 makes apurchase, the customer 12 signs on to the customer's preferred homebanking system 14, such as Citibank's DIRECT ACCESS system, using thecustomer's personal computer (PC) 10. The customer 12 signs on to thehome banking system 14 in exactly the same way in which the customer 12normally accesses the home banking system 14 over the Internet 22.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the customer 12 signs on tothe home banking system 14, and fills in a very brief couple of fieldsof information explaining the transaction and, most importantly, theamount, in response to prompts by the system 14 for the information. Thesystem for an embodiment of the present invention includes, for example,application software that then creates a temporary credit card numberand expiry date. The expiry date is the one other piece of informationthat is known to be submitted in the typical credit card authorization.The system for an embodiment of the present invention makes a uniquecombination of a card number and expiry date and provides that to thecustomer 12 for use for the purchase, for example, via the vendor'swebsite server 18.

The system software for an embodiment of the present invention thencreates the necessary record for the particular transaction to beauthorized. However, unlike a normal credit card where any validtransaction subject to balance verification can be authorized, anembodiment of the present invention creates a single-use paymentinstrument which exists only for the duration of, and specifically for,that single transaction. Therefore, any other authorization requestwhich comes into the system with those details for a different amountare rejected. The customer 12 then proceeds back to (or to) the vendor'sInternet website 18 and enters that information just as the customer 12would enter a credit card number and its expiry date at whatever pointthat the vendor's system 18 asks for the customer's credit cardinformation.

In an embodiment of the present invention, once the particulartransaction item has been approved for the amount of which the customer12 advised the vendor's website server 18 and the bank's home bankingserver 14, it too is removed from any authority, so it would only workonce. The result of that is that anyone else who may come intopossession of that particular piece of information will not besuccessful if they attempt to use it to perform any other transactionwhatsoever. Accordingly, if the vendor to whose website server 18 thecustomer's PC 10 is connected is actually acting criminally and is onlygathering the information to try and use it elsewhere, while it willwork for the transaction about which the customer 12 gave information tothe customer's bank's home banking server 14, it cannot be subsequentlyauthorized. It essentially represents a non-existent bank card, and itis of no use to anyone else.

The system and method for an embodiment of the present inventionprotects both the bank, as well as the customer 12, from anyone takingthat information while it is in transit, encryption discussionsnotwithstanding, or while it is stored on the vendor's computer system18 and using it for fraudulent purposes. The vendor benefits from beingable to transact with a wider base of confident customers. And, if thevendor chooses to do so, the vendor's website server 18 can beconfigured to recognize the type of instrument being used bycharacteristic range of numbers and permit more preferential termshigher value transactions for such payments on the basis of theirsuperior authenticity. The customer does not have to be concerned thatthe Internet connection is secure. All that the customer 12 has providedto the bank is the customer's identification to the bank's home bankingsystem 14, but that information is of no use to anyone else who attemptsto present it to a merchant. In other words, the only item ofinformation being transferred across the network 22 is the temporary,short-lived, single-use payment instrument that is created.

An additional aspect of an embodiment of the present invention is thatthe application of the bank's home banking server 14 that creates thetoken is able to access the database of the bank's credit cardauthorization server 16 used for credit card authorization on-line. Thatapplication creates the necessary records for the single-use, temporarypayment instrument, examines incoming authorization requests for thatparticular instrument from the vendor's credit card acquirer 20,verifies that the amount corresponds with the transaction of which thecustomer 12 advised the bank, and authorizes the appropriatetransaction, while rejecting any others. In addition, the applicationalso cleans up that database and removes records referring to thatinstrument once the transaction has been concluded or has expired, as itis not a real credit card, and is also subject to a predeterminedexpiry. In other words, the customer 12 is told that this paymentauthorization token can be used for a predetermined period of time,after which it will become useless in and of itself, and the customer 12will have to come and get another one.

In terms of financial settlement from that point on, in an embodiment ofthe present invention, the customer 12 is debited through whatevermechanism the customer 12 chooses. For example, the bank can take themoney from a credit card or from a checking account or from some otheraccount designated by the customer 12. The vendor, assuming that thevendor is indeed valid, can present that transaction just as it wouldany other credit card transaction, and it is settled through the normalchannels. Thus, there is no actual sign-up necessary for the customer12. The customer 12 merely needs to identify himself or herself to thebank's home banking server 14, in order to authorize the issuance of thetransaction token and to authorize the bank to debit the customer'saccount.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the bank knows which accountof the customer 12 to debit by the customer 12 providing thatinformation when the customer 12 requests the token. Alternatively, thebank can default to the customer's main transactional account that isassociated with the profile under which the customer 12 logged on to thehome banking system 14. However, it is likely to be more convenient forthe customer 12 to be able to choose from where to get the money. Inthat sense, the single-use payment instrument is not necessarilycharacterized as a debit card-like instrument or a credit card-likeinstrument.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the way in which the homebanking system 14 works is that one or more customer accounts, such ascredit card accounts, checking accounts, and savings accounts, arelinked to the customer's profile. Thus, the customer 12 is able tonominate a particular source for the funds for a transaction or set apreference for the bank to default to a particular means to save thecustomer 12 from entering it each time. In addition, since this is anon-line system capable of doing so, the customer's nominated source offunds is checked, as is the case with someone presenting a debit card orcredit card, and the funds are earmarked to be reserved for the sameperiod of time as the expiry of the token.

Referring again to FIG. 1, in an embodiment of the present invention,the customer 12 at the customer's PC 10 accesses the vendor's websiteserver 18 and the bank's home banking server 14 over the Internet 22. Inturn, the bank's home banking server 14 is coupled to the credit cardauthorization server 16, which is updated with the one-off occurrencefor an embodiment of the present invention. The application for anembodiment of the present invention resides, for example, on the homebanking server 14 and the credit card authorization server 16. Graphicaluser interface (GUI) screens are presented for the customer 12 on thecustomer's PC 10 through the customer's browser.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram which illustrates an example overview ofkey components and the flow of information between the key componentsfor an alternate embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG.2, the arrangement is similar to that illustrated in FIG. 1 except, forexample, not using the Internet 22, the vendor's website server 18itself connects to the vendor's credit card acquirer service provider 20which, in turn, queries the authorization system 16 back on the bank'sside via private networks or leased lines. Thus, as far as the customer12 is concerned, the customer 12 communicates strictly with the websiteserver 18, and the website server 18 uses whatever means it currentlyhas to authorize the credit card transaction, which may or may notinvolve further communication over the Internet 22.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart which illustrates an example of the process ofthe customer 12 performing an on-line transaction using the single-usepayment instrument for an embodiment of the present invention. Referringto FIG. 3, at S1, the customer 12 at the customer's PC 10 accesses thevendor's website server 18 over the Internet 22 and chooses to make apurchase from the vendor. At S2, the customer 12 accesses the bank'shome banking server 14 and provides transaction details in response toprompts. At S3, the bank's home banking server 14 creates the necessarypayment instrument records based on the transaction details and providesthe instrument details to the customer 12.

Referring further to FIG. 3 for an embodiment of the present invention,at S4, the customer 12 provides the instrument details to the vendor'swebsite server 18 to make the purchase from the vendor. At S5, thevendor's website server 18 presents the instrument details to its creditcard acquirer service 20 for authorization. At S6, the acquirer service20 presents the details to the bank's credit card authorization server16 for authorization. At S7, the bank's authorization server 16 verifiesthe amount, authorizes the transaction and removes the records. At S8,the vendor's acquirer service 20 confirms authorization to the vendor'swebsite server 18 and initiates settlement. At S9, the vendor's websiteserver 18 confirms the purchase to the customer 12 at the customer's PC10.

Referring again to FIGS. 1 and 2, an important aspect of an embodimentof the present invention is some connection between the vendor's websiteserver 18 and the vendor's card acquirer service 20. When a vendorstarts accepting credit cards for payment for goods, the vendor has arelationship, for example, with the vendor's bank, which actuallyprovides the service of getting authorization for card transactions andgetting the settlement paid to the vendor's account. Therefore, thevendor has some type of mechanism to pass the card information that thecustomer 12 sends to the vendor's website server 18 on to the vendor'sacquirer service 20. In turn, the acquirer service 20 presents thatinformation to the customer's bank's credit card authorization server16. In an embodiment of the present invention, the customer's bank'scredit card authorization server 16 is also modified per the inventionto see a transaction according to the present invention arrive and toauthorize the transaction as a perfectly valid credit card transaction.

Various preferred embodiments of the invention have been described infulfillment of the various objects of the invention. It should berecognized that these embodiments are merely illustrative of theprinciples of the present invention. Numerous modifications andadaptations thereof will be readily apparent to those skilled in the artwithout departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

1. A computer-implemented method for performing an on-line transactionwith a vendor using a single-use payment instrument in the absence of abilling service, comprising: generating by a first computer softwareapplication process tangibly embodied in a physical program storagedevice executable by a physical computer hardware machine and executingon the hardware machine details of a payment instrument for thetransaction corresponding to transaction details for the on-linetransaction with the vendor received from a customer via a secondcomputer software application process tangibly embodied in a physicalprogram storage device executable by a physical computer hardwaremachine and executing on the hardware machine, said details of thepayment instrument consisting at least in part of a payment amount and aunique identification number for the transaction; providing the customerby a third computer software application process tangibly embodied in aphysical program storage device executable by a physical computerhardware machine and executing on the hardware machine with the paymentinstrument details for use in the transaction with the vendor; andauthorizing the transaction with the vendor for the customer by a fourthcomputer software application process tangibly embodied in a physicalprogram storage device executable by a physical computer hardwaremachine and executing on the hardware machine in response to a requestfor authorization of the transaction for the customer according to thepayment instrument details without imposing as a prerequisite for theon-line transaction that the vendor must have entered a billingagreement with a billing service and that the customer must haveregistered with the billing service.
 2. The method of claim 1, whereingenerating details of the payment instrument for the transactioncorresponding to transaction details for the on-line transaction withthe vendor received from a customer further comprises receiving thetransaction details for the on-line transaction with the vendor by ahome banking server from a computing device of the customer over anetwork.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein said details of the paymentinstrument further comprise a fabricated card expiration date.
 4. Themethod of claim 1, wherein providing the customer with the paymentinstrument details further comprises providing the customer with thepayment instrument details by a home banking server coupled to acomputing device of the customer over a network.
 5. The method of claim1, wherein authorizing the transaction with the vendor for the customerfurther comprises authorizing the transaction with the vendor for thecustomer in response to a request for authorization of the transactionfor the customer received by a credit card authorization server.
 6. Themethod of claim 5, wherein authorizing the transaction with the vendorfor the customer in response to the request for authorization of thetransaction for the customer received by the credit card authorizationserver further comprises authorizing the transaction with the vendor forthe customer in response to the request for authorization of thetransaction for the customer received by the credit card authorizationserver via a credit card acquirer service of the vendor.
 7. The methodof claim 6, wherein authorizing the transaction with the vendor for thecustomer in response to the request for authorization of the transactionfor the customer received by the credit card authorization serverfurther comprises authorizing the transaction with the vendor for thecustomer in response to the request for authorization of the transactionfor the customer received by the credit card authorization server from awebsite server of the vendor via a credit card acquirer service of thevendor.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein authorizing the transactionwith the vendor further comprises authorizing the transaction if therequest for authorization according to the payment instrument detailscorresponds to a stored record of the payment instrument details.
 9. Themethod of claim 1, wherein authorizing the transaction with the vendorfor the customer further comprises authorizing the transaction with thevendor for the customer in response to a request for authorization ofthe transaction for the customer received by a credit card authorizationserver before a predefined expiry of the payment instrument.
 10. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising debiting a nominated source offunds for the payment amount.
 11. The method of claim 10, whereindebiting the nominated source of funds for the payment amount furthercomprises receiving the nomination of the source of funds by a homebanking server coupled to a computing device of the customer over anetwork.
 12. The method of claim 10, wherein debiting the nominatedsource of funds for the payment amount further comprises receiving thenomination of the source of funds from among a plurality of nominationoptions consisting at least in part of a credit card account, a checkingaccount, and a savings account.
 13. A computer system for performing anon-line transaction with a vendor using a single-use payment instrumentin the absence of a billing service, comprising: a first computersoftware application process tangibly embodied in a physical programstorage device executable by a physical computer hardware machine andexecuting on the hardware machine that generates details of a paymentinstrument for the transaction corresponding to transaction details forthe on-line transaction with the vendor received from a customer via asecond computer software application process tangibly embodied in aphysical program storage device executable by a physical computerhardware machine and executing on the hardware machine, said details ofthe payment instrument consisting at least in part of a payment amountand a unique identification number for the transaction; a third computersoftware application process tangibly embodied in a physical programstorage device executable by a physical computer hardware machine andexecuting on the hardware machine that provides the customer with thepayment instrument details for use in the transaction with the vendor;and a fourth computer software application process tangibly embodied ina physical program storage device executable by a physical computerhardware machine and executing on the hardware machine that authorizesthe transaction with the vendor for the customer in response to arequest for authorization of the transaction for the customer accordingto the payment instrument details without imposing as a prerequisite forthe on-line transaction that the vendor must have entered a billingagreement with a billing service and that the customer must haveregistered with the billing service.
 14. Machine readable medium onwhich is encoded program code for performing an on-line transaction witha vendor using a single-use payment instrument in the absence of abilling service, comprising instructions that: generate details of apayment instrument for the transaction corresponding to transactiondetails for the on-line transaction with the vendor received from acustomer, said details of the payment instrument consisting at least inpart of a payment amount and a unique identification number for thetransaction; provide the customer with the payment instrument detailsfor use in the transaction with the vendor; and authorize thetransaction with the vendor for the customer in response to a requestfor authorization of the transaction for the customer according to thepayment instrument details without imposing as a prerequisite for theon-line transaction that the vendor must have entered a billingagreement with a billing service and that the customer must haveregistered with the billing service.
 15. A computer-implemented methodfor performing an on-line transaction with a vendor using a single-usepayment instrument in the absence of a billing service, comprising:generating by a first computer software application process tangiblyembodied in a physical program storage device executable by a physicalcomputer hardware machine and executing on the hardware machine detailsof a payment instrument for the transaction specific to the transactioncorresponding to the transaction details and consisting at least in partof a payment amount for the transaction and a unique identificationnumber for the transaction embedded with a bank identification number ofthe customer's bank's credit card authorization server for routing arequest for authorization to said customer's bank's credit cardauthorization server; providing the customer by a second computersoftware application process tangibly embodied in a physical programstorage device executable by a physical computer hardware machine andexecuting on the hardware machine with the payment instrument detailsfor use in the transaction with the vendor; and authorizing thetransaction with the vendor for the customer by a third computersoftware application process tangibly embodied in a physical programstorage device executable by a physical computer hardware machine andexecuting on the hardware machine in response to a request forauthorization of the transaction for the customer according to thepayment instrument details without imposing as a prerequisite for theon-line transaction that the vendor must have entered a billingagreement with a billing service and that the customer must haveregistered with the billing service.
 16. A computer-implemented methodfor performing an on-line transaction with a vendor using a single-usepayment instrument in the absence of a billing service, comprising:generating by a first computer software application process tangiblyembodied in a physical program storage device executable by a physicalcomputer hardware machine and executing on the hardware machine detailsof a payment instrument for the transaction specific to the transactioncorresponding to the transaction details and consisting at least in partof a payment amount for the transaction and a unique identificationnumber for the transaction selected from a characteristic range ofnumbers identifiable by a web site server of the vendor as anauthenticating number; providing the customer by a second computersoftware application process tangibly embodied in a physical programstorage device executable by a physical computer hardware machine andexecuting on the hardware machine with the payment instrument detailsfor use in the transaction with the vendor; and authorizing thetransaction with the vendor for the customer by a third computersoftware application process tangibly embodied in a physical programstorage device executable by a physical computer hardware machine andexecuting on the hardware machine in response to a request forauthorization of the transaction for the customer according to thepayment instrument details without imposing as a prerequisite for theon-line transaction that the vendor must have entered a billingagreement with a billing service and that the customer must haveregistered with the billing service.
 17. A computer-implemented methodfor performing an on-line transaction using a single-use paymentinstrument in the absence of a billing service, comprising: generatingby a first computer software application process tangibly embodied in aphysical program storage device executable by a physical computerhardware machine and executing on the hardware machine details of apayment instrument for a specific transaction corresponding to thetransaction details consisting at least in part of a payment amount forthe transaction, a temporary credit card number, and a fabricated cardexpiration date by a financial institution server processable via acredit card transaction processing system; providing the customer by asecond computer software application process tangibly embodied in aphysical program storage device executable by a physical computerhardware machine and executing on the hardware machine with the paymentinstrument details for use in the transaction with the vendor; andauthorizing the transaction with the vendor for the customer by a thirdcomputer software application process tangibly embodied in a physicalprogram storage device executable by a physical computer hardwaremachine and executing on the hardware machine in response to a requestfor authorization of the transaction for the customer according to thepayment instrument details without imposing as a prerequisite for theon-line transaction that the vendor must have entered a billingagreement with a billing service and that the customer must haveregistered with the billing service.
 18. A computer-implemented methodfor performing an on-line transaction with a vendor using a single-usepayment instrument in the absence of a billing service, comprising:receiving by a website server of the vendor from the customer at acustomer computing device details of a payment instrument for thetransaction corresponding to transaction details for the on-linetransaction with the vendor, said details of the payment instrumentconsisting at least in part of a payment amount and a uniqueidentification number for the transaction provided to the customer atthe customer computing device by a home banking server for use by thecustomer in the transaction with the vendor; presenting the paymentinstrument details by the website server of the vendor to a credit cardauthorization server via a credit card acquirer service of the vendorfor authorization of the transaction for the customer; receivingauthorization by the website server of the vendor from the credit cardauthorization server via the credit card acquirer service of the vendorfor the transaction with the vendor for the customer according to thepayment instrument details without imposing as a prerequisite for theon-line transaction that the vendor must have entered a billingagreement with a billing service and that the customer must haveregistered with the billing service; and providing by the website serverof the vendor to the customer at the customer computing deviceconfirmation of payment for the transaction with the vendor according tothe payment instrument details.
 19. A computer-implemented method forperforming an on-line transaction with a vendor using a single-usepayment instrument in the absence of a billing service, comprising:providing by a customer at a customer computing device to a home bankingsewer transaction details for the on-line transaction with the vendorconsisting at least in part of a payment amount for the transaction withthe vendor; receiving by the customer at the customer computing devicefrom the home banking sewer details of a payment instrument generated bythe home banking sewer for use in the transaction with the vendorcorresponding to the transaction details, said payment instrumentdetails consisting at least in part of the payment amount and a uniqueidentification number for the transaction; providing the paymentinstrument details by the customer at the customer computing device tothe website server of the vendor; and receiving authorization by thewebsite server via the credit card acquirer service of the vendor forthe transaction with the vendor for the customer according to thepayment instrument details without imposing as a prerequisite for theon-line transaction that the vendor must have entered a billingagreement with a billing service and that the customer must haveregistered with the billing service.